The distribution of vaccines through the developing world is sometimes limited by a lack of available refrigeration for the storage of the vaccines. In some parts of the world, more than half of the vaccines spoil before they can be administered. Millions of lives and billions of dollars are lost due to a lack of refrigeration. A new solar refrigerator developed by the Appropriate Technology Collaborative can provide lifesaving cold storage for vaccines with an inexpensive system that can be built from locally available materials.
The solar refrigerator is now entered in competition for the NASA Tech Briefs Create The Future Contest. The refrigerator needs no electricity and should require only minimal maintenance since it has no valves or moving parts. With the ATC refrigerator, it is possible to maintain WHO and UNICEF compliant "chain-of-cold" storage of vaccines.
“The ATC Solar Vaccine Refrigerator is a robust, easy to maintain technology that can be made in the country or region where it is to be used. It is made out of simple materials that can be found in most cities: steel, charcoal and ethanol or methanol. The finished product has no moving parts that need maintenance and it doesn’t use electricity of any kind. One simply places it in sunlight and it freezes. Period. (Note: If the sun doesn’t shine it can run on biofuels)”
Appropriate Technology Collaborative is a non-profit organization headed by former EcoGeek contributing writer John Barrie. ATC works to develop technologies to improve the lives of people in developing countries. But, unlike a host of other such organizations, ATC works to make systems that can be built and maintained by local engineers and local workers. ATC's designs are made available through Creative Commons and published online to make them available in developing countries and so that other NGOs can copy or improve upon their work.
You can vote for the ATC Refrigerator design at the NASA Tech Briefs Create The Future Contest.
via: Sustainable Design Update
